Wrapping for block shaped articles



May 19, 1936. w KEMP 2,041,679

WRAPPING FOR BLOCK SHAPED ARTICLES Filed Feb. 26, 1955 r 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 9, 1936. w. J. KEMP WRAPPING FOR BLOCK SHA Filed Feb. 26, 1955 FED ARTICLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 z/MWAZ /M Patented May 19, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE William Joseph Kemp, Deptford, London, England Application February 26, 1935, Serial No. 8,381 In Great Britain March 12, 1934 Claims.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to wrappings for block shaped articles, and refers more particularly to wrappings for cigarettes, which mappings are of the U shaped block ended type.

It is common to wrap articles such as cigarettes in protective wrappers of tin or like foil and thereafter insert them into an outer carton or container in order to keep the cigarettes in a fresh and moist condition and free from dust during the period ensuing between the time when they are wrapped in the factory and the time that the consumer opens the package in order to smoke the cigarettes.

Such types of packages are well known and are in common use, but they are all open to the disadvantage that when the package is opened and the foil bundle disturbed in order to extract part of the contents, for example, a cigarette, the consumer invariably experiences considerable difliculty in replacing the foil folds neatly enough to allow of the re-closing of the container. Some resort to tearing off portions of the wrapper against the edge of the external container, but this procedure is objectionable, as there is considerable risk of damage to the contents, cigarettes often becoming crushed or broken.

The basic idea of all wrappings of this type is to ensure that the contents within the wrapper reach the consumer in good condition, and an ob- J'ect of the invention is to provide a wrapper of the type described in which the contents within the wrapper reach the consumer in good condition and to provide means whereby the consumer may have ready access to the contents when the container is opened. According to the invention, there is provided in an outer container (e. g., a container of the slide and shell type) a wrapper of the type described, wherein at least one limb of the wrapper is formed from at least two portions of wrapping material. The portions of material forming the wrapper may be arranged to overlap each other.

The invention will be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a Wrapper blank composed of two portions of wrapping material.

Figures 2 to- 8 are perspective views illustrating successive stages in the folding of the wrapper blank about the articles.

Figure 9 is a perspective view showing the wrapped articles in an outer container, and illustrating the manner by which easy access is obtained to the contents of the wrapper.

Like references refer to like parts throughout the specification and drawings.

According to one form of the invention, the main portion of wrapping material I is assembled with a smaller portion 2, and the two por- 5 tions are arranged to overlap each other as shown by the cross-hatching in Figure 1. The purpose of arranging the portions l and 2 so that they overlap each other is to provide a wrapper blank which is in effect discontinuous. The overall 10 length of the assembled portions 1 and 2 is substantially the required length of the wrapper for completely enveloping the article or, articles which is or are to be enveloped thereby. For the sake of convenience, the article or articles being wrapped will hereinafter be referred to as "cigarettes, and in the'drawings is shown as a batch 3 of cigarettes.

When the wrapper has been assembled in the manner illustrated in Figure 1, it is folded into a U shape about the cigarettes as illustrated in Figure 2. The narrow end folds 4 at the block end of the wrapper are then formed as illustrated in Figure 3, after which the side folds 5 are formed as illustrated in Figure 4. It will be seen that the overlapping portions of the assembled wrapper blank have not yet been folded, but the next folding operation illustrated in Figure 5 causes the side folds 6 to be formed, and by this operation the assembled portion of the wrapper is folded downwardly. The next operation in the folding of the wrapper blank about the cigarettes is illustrated in Figure 6, from which figure it will be seen that the narrow end folds 1 are formed at the open end of the U shaped block ended wrapper. When the narrow end folds 1 have been formed, the lowermost broad end flap 8 is folded upwardly, as illustrated in Figure '7, and thereafter the final closure flap 9 which is formed from the portion 2 of the wrapper is 40 folded into engagement with the broad end flap 8 as illustrated in Figure 8. The cigarettes are now completely enveloped in the wrapping material, and can be inserted into an outer container which is illustrated in Figure 9, by way of example, as a container of the slide and shell type.

It will be seen from Figure 2 that one limb of the U formed by the wrapper is composed of a part of the portion of wrapping material I, the remainder of the limb being composed of the portion 2 of the wrapping material. The other limb of the U formed by the wrapper is composed entirely from the portion l of the wrapping material.

When the consumer desires to obtain access to the cigarettes, it is only necessary for him to open the outer container sufficiently for him to grasp hold of the closure flap 9, when he can withdraw that portion of the wrapper which is composed of the portion 2 completely away from the rest of the wrapper and so expose the cigarettes as illustrated in Figure 9. The portion of wrapping material so removed can be thrown away, and it is therefore possible by means of the present invention to obviate the necessity of pulling back a portion of the wrapper and tearing off the same against the edge of the outer container, as has hitherto been customary.

In a further modified form of the invention, when the wrapper is to be applied to an article of substantial width, such an article being, for example, a batch of twenty cigarettes arranged in two rows, each row containing ten cigarettes, the portion 2 of the wrapper may itself be formed from two pieces of wrapping material which overlap each other and which also overlap the portion I of material. By using a wrapper constructed in accordance with this modified form of the invention, it is possible for the consumer to remove only one piece of the portion 2 of wrapping material at a time, thus gaining access to a portion of the cigarettes contained in the wrapper whilst the remaining cigarettes are still protected by the remaining portion of the wrapper.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. An inner wrapper for cigarettes and like articles adapted for insertion in an outer container, said wrapper comprising at least two readily separable elements of wrapping material, one of said elements covering a part only of one end of the wrapped articles.

2. Ina package for cigarettes and like articles, the combination with an outer container having an end adapted to be opened, of an inner wrapper received in the container, said wrapper completely enclosing the articles and being formed of two readily separable and overlapping elements of wrapping material, one of said elements being accessible at the said end of the container for detachment from the package, said last named element covering a portion only of one end of the wrapped articles.

3. In a package for cigarettes and like articles, the combination with an outer container of the slide and shell type, of an inner wrapper comprising at least two readily separable elements, said elements being arranged in overlapping relation, one of said elements covering a part only of one end of the article and being accessible from the opening end of the container, whereby said last named element may be readily removed and discarded to permit access to the articles without mutilation of the remainder of the wrapper.

4. In a package for cigarettes and like articles, the combination with an outer container, of an inner wrapper inserted in the container and comprising at least two separate portions, one of said portions being removable from the remainder, said wrapper being folded into a U about one face of the article with the limbs of the U extending beyond the opposite face of the articles the sides of the limbs of the wrapper projecting laterally beyond the articles, the laterally projecting portions of the wrapper being folded to form side folds and the ends of the limbs of the U folded over that face of the articles opposite the face about which the U is formed, 7

the said removable portion comprising a part at least of the end of one of the limbs of the U.

5. In a method of packaging cigarettes or like articles, the steps which comprise enveloping the articles in a wrapper having at least two readily separable portions with one of said portions extending about a part only of one end of the articles, and inserting the articles thus wrapped in an outer container with the separable portion accessible at the opening end of the container, whereby said separable portion may be readily detached and discarded to afford access to the articles without mutilation of the remainder of the wrapper.

WILLIAM JOSEPH KEMP. 

